e. greed, lust and jealousy). To do this, Qutb advocated using a by any means necessary approach, in preventing the status quo from imposing its will upon everyone. This meant that there will be some kind of armed struggle against these forces.

What impacts has he had on Islamic thought?

The biggest impact of Qutb's ideas is in Islamic philosophy. What happened was Qutb, became involved in the Muslim Brotherhood when he returned to Egypt in 1952. During this time, he was actively involved in supporting governments and individuals that challenged Western policies. This led to him being arrested twice.

When he was in jail the first time, he wrote a number of pieces that discusses his radical ideas and how Muslims should stand up to this oppression. After being released in 1965 (for a brief period), is when he would publish these ideas. This led to his re-arrest and execution in 1966. These events, helped to make Qutb a martyr in the Islamic world. As a result, various scholars and clerics would continue to study these ideas and began to support many of them. Once this occurred, is when there were more radical interpretations of the Koran.

This set the stage for more extreme organizations to become a dominant force in Middle Eastern politics. As a result, different political parties such as the Muslim Brotherhood began to accept these views as a part their platform. This was used to show how there needs to be some kind of dramatic change in society.

Over the course of time, these ideas became a central part in many radical Islamic organizations. From the 1960s into the early 1990s, these ideas were used to create divisions between the East and West. In this case, the Soviet Union supported groups that were directly opposed to these governments. This set the stage for more radical movements to emerge with these ideas becoming a central part of the Iranian Revolution in 1979. Moreover, these ideas helped to fuel deep seeded divisions between various Sunni and Shiite ethnic groups throughout the region.

Once the Cold War ended, is when these beliefs began to morph into something much larger. In this case, more radical movements emerged such as: the Taliban. They want to impose a fundamental Islamic state that will bring Muslim society closer to these ideas. This has set the stage for conflicts in the Arab world about their role with the West. The main divisions are from the more liberal interpretations, with Sunni's arguing that Islam is based on love and peace. The only way that this can be achieved is to work with everyone in dealing with a host of challenges.

While the fundamentalists, will claim that this is nothing more than the West trying to exert its control over the region and its resources. This is something that has been continuing throughout history. The only difference is these countries are no longer trying to directly control large areas. Instead, they have established corrupt governments that will impose their will on the people. These ideas are showing how Qutb, was able to create a more conservative interpretation of Islamic law and principles. In the future, this would be used as part of political views that supported Arab nationalism and the role of religion in society. It is at this point, that more radical Islamic regimes were implemented (in order to bring the Muslim world closer to these ideals).

Conclusion

Clearly, Sayyid Qutb beliefs were influenced by his early his dislikes for Islamic principles. This is because he felt that many of these ideas were often similar to a drug that is used to control the people. However, once he was in the United States, is when he seen how the more liberal ideas were corrupting society. To protect the current economic and social system, the West will use any means necessary to control natural resources and strategic points of interest.

As a result, he thinks that Muslim societies have been corrupted by these views. To deal with these challenges, the more radical Muslims (who are the true believers) must push everyone to following these practices. This means standing up to the current system and possibly engaging in violent activities to prevent these abuses from continuing. According to Qutbs, this is only way that a true Islamic society can be created (which is focused on protecting these values). As a result, these ideas have had a major impact on Muslim thought (with an emphasis on: more radical regimes and movements in support of these views).